Frances Mayes (born March 23, 1940) is an American writer. Her 1996 memoir Under the Tuscan Sun was on the New York Times Best Seller list for over two years and was the basis for the film Under the Tuscan Sun .
29-611: Frances Mayes was born on March 23, 1940, in Fitzgerald , Georgia to Garbert Mayes, a cotton mill manager, and Frankye Mayes. Mayes was the youngest of three sisters. Garbert Mayes died of cancer at age 47, when Frances was 14. Mayes initially attended Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg , Virginia starting in 1958. She later transferred to the University of Florida , where she completed her BA . While at school at
58-579: A chicken . Fitzgerald is located in Southeast Georgia at 31°42′56″N 83°15′23″W / 31.71556°N 83.25639°W / 31.71556; -83.25639 (31.715432, -83.256464). U.S. Route 129 passes through the center of the city, leading north to Abbeville , Hawkinsville , and eventually Macon , and south to Ocilla , Nashville , and Lakeland . U.S. Route 319 also passes through Fitzgerald, leading northeast to McRae and Dublin and southwest to Tifton . According to
87-849: A text for readers and writers. Mayes's first novel, Swan , was published in 2002. Her novel Women in Sunlight was published in 2019. A Place in the World: Finding the Meaning of Home was published in 2022 and was long-listed for the PEN essay category. In 1996, Mayes published the book Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy , which was on the New York Times Best Seller list for over two years. The book
116-867: A year, the residents planned a Thanksgiving harvest parade. Separate Union and Confederate parades were planned. But when the band struck up to play, the Confederates joined the Union veterans to march as one under the US flag. At the time there was increasing reconciliation nationwide between white soldiers of the North and South; historian David Blight notes that outstanding issues of race were pushed aside. In this era southern states had already begun to pass new constitutions that raised barriers to voter registration, following Mississippi's in 1890, and essentially disenfranchised most freedmen and many poor whites. By 1900, Fitzgerald
145-542: Is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia . As of the 2020 census , the population was 17,194. The county seat is Fitzgerald . The county was organized in 1906. It is named after Benjamin Harvey Hill , a former Confederate and United States Senator . Ben Hill County comprises the Fitzgerald micropolitan statistical area . The Ben Hill County Courthouse and Ben Hill County Jail are listed on
174-712: Is a memoir of Mayes buying, renovating, and living in an abandoned villa in rural Cortona in Tuscany , a region of Italy. A film loosely based on the book, Under the Tuscan Sun. was released in 2003, adapted by director Audrey Wells . In 1999, Bella Tuscany: The Sweet Life in Italy was published, and in 2000, In Tuscany . The book Bringing Tuscany Home was published in 2004, a collaborative effort of Mayes and her husband Edward Kleinschmidt Mayes with photographer Steven Rothfeld. Another memoir, Every Day in Tuscany ,
203-545: Is now operated as a bed and breakfast . J. J. (Captain Jack) Dorminy built it in 1915 for his family; the two-story, colonial-style home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . The Blue and Gray Museum , located in the town's AB&A 1908 railroad depot, houses several artifacts that tell the story of the town's founding. The town also has a city government owned art gallery located in
232-695: The Carnegie library on the edge of downtown. The U.S. Postal Service operates the Fitzgerald Post Office. The city is the county seat, hosting the Ben Hill County Courthouse . The Ben Hill County School District , which includes all of Ben Hill County, conducts pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one pre-school, one primary school, an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 217 full-time teachers and over 3,395 students. While
261-787: The Georgia–Florida League moved to town. The Moultrie club was a charter member of the Georgia–Florida League when it began operations in 1946. After relocating to Fitzgerald and becoming an affiliate of the Cincinnati Redlegs , the new edition of the Fitzgerald Pioneers lasted one season (1954) saw the team name changed to the Fitzgerald Redlegs . After two years in Fitzgerald, the club returned to Moultrie. It ceased operating in 1958 under
290-430: The National Register of Historic Places . Ben Hill County was organized in 1906. It was created from Irwin and Wilcox counties. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 254 square miles (660 km ), of which 250 square miles (650 km ) is land and 3.8 square miles (9.8 km ) (1.5%) is water. The majority of Ben Hill County, its northern and eastern portions, are located in
319-575: The Union Army during the Civil War, he founded it as a community for war veterans–both from the Union and from the Confederacy . The majority of the first citizens (some 2700) were Union veterans. It was incorporated on December 2, 1896. The town is located less than 15 miles (24 km) from the site where Confederate president Jefferson Davis was captured on May 10, 1865. Fitzgerald
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#1732801934586348-584: The United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 9.0 square miles (23.3 km ), of which 8.8 square miles (22.9 km ) is land and 0.15 square miles (0.4 km ), or 1.64%, is water. At the 2020 United States census , there were 9,006 people, 3,346 households, and 1,932 families residing in the city. By 2022 a part of the city was in Irwin County, but no people lived in that portion. The Dorminy-Massee House
377-566: The Department of Creative Writing. Mayes and her husband William divorced in the 1980s. After her divorce, Mayes began dating Edward Kleinschmidt , a fellow poet and professor employed at nearby Santa Clara University . In 1989, Mayes bought a historic villa named Bramasole located in Cortona , Italy . She and her partner Kleinschmidt began an extensive renovation of the abandoned property, which Mayes documented in her 1996 memoire Under
406-755: The Gold Medal from the SATWF Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition and the Gold for Best Travel Book by the North American Travel Journalists Association. In 2023, the cookbook Pasta Veloce was published. Her books have been published in over fifty languages and many have been international best sellers. Source: Fitzgerald, Georgia Fitzgerald is a city in and the county seat of Ben Hill County in
435-757: The Irwin County portion is in the Irwin County School District , as of 2022 no people live in that portion. Wiregrass Georgia Technical College – Ben Hill-Irwin Campus is located on the southern end of the county. Fitzgerald was home to a minor league baseball team in the Georgia State League from 1948, the league's first season of operation, through 1952. The team was called the Fitzgerald Pioneers . The club had no affiliation with any major league club during
464-858: The Lower Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The northwestern corner of the county, east of Rebecca , is located in the Alapaha River sub-basin of the Suwannee River basin. The southeastern corner of the county, east of Fitzgerald , is located in the Satilla River sub-basin of the St. Marys -Satilla River basin. Ben Hill County is part of the Southeast Georgia region. In 2000, there were 17,484 people, 6,673 households, and 4,631 families living in
493-1032: The Tuscan Sun . The book became a surprise hit and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years. The success of Under the Tuscan Sun allowed Mayes to become a full-time writer. Mayes and Kleinschmidt were married in 1998, and Kleinschmidt took the last name Mayes. In 2007, the Mayes family moved their American residence from San Francisco to North Carolina, along with Frances' daughter Ashley. Frances and Edward Mayes currently divide their time between their homes in North Carolina and Cortona, Italy. Mayes has published several works of poetry : Climbing Aconcagua (1977), Sunday in Another Country (1977), After Such Pleasures (1979), The Arts of Fire (1982), Hours (1984), and Ex Voto (1995). She wrote The Discovery of Poetry ,
522-495: The University of Florida, Mayes met her first husband, William Frank King. The couple married when Mayes was 22 and relocated to California. They had one daughter, Ashley King. Mayes returned to school and earned her MA from San Francisco State University in 1975. After graduating, Mayes became Professor of Creative Writing at her alma mater San Francisco State University, as well as director of The Poetry Center and Chair of
551-530: The club was known as the Fitzgerald Orioles for the 1957 season. The Fitzgerald team relocated to Dublin, Georgia after the 1957 season and remained a Baltimore Orioles farm team; they played as the Dublin Orioles for the Georgia–Florida League's last year of operation. Fitzgerald has not had a minor league team in the 63 years since. Ben Hill County, Georgia Ben Hill County
580-672: The county's median household income was $ 38,255 with a per capita income of $ 22,625. An estimated 26.5% of the county lived at or below the poverty line. Religiously, the Association of Religion Data Archives in 2020 denoted Christianity as the predominant religion, being part of the Bible Belt . Among its Christian population, the majority formed the Southern Baptist Convention , and the Baptist tradition
609-409: The county. The population density was 69 inhabitants per square mile (27/km ). There were 7,623 housing units at an average density of 30 per square mile (12/km ). In 2010, there were 17,634 people, 6,794 households, and 4,730 families living in the county. By the 2020 United States census , there were 17,194 people, 6,443 households, and 4,019 families residing in the county. In 2000,
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#1732801934586638-728: The five seasons of operation in the Georgia State League. After the 1952 season, the Fitzgerald Pioneers relocated to Sandersville and became the Sandersville Wacos, which were affiliated with the Milwaukee Braves for the 1953 season. The team ended their last season in 1956, under different affiliation. Fitzgerald got a replacement team for the Pioneers in 1953 when the Moultrie Giants of
667-413: The median income for a household in the county was $ 27,100, and the median income for a family was $ 33,023. Males had a median income of $ 26,750 versus $ 19,547 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 14,093. 22.30% of the population and 18.70% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 33.30% are under the age of 18 and 17.60% are 65 or older. In 2010,
696-430: The median income for a household in the county was $ 30,134 and the median income for a family was $ 35,868. Males had a median income of $ 32,613 versus $ 23,320 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 15,529. About 22.7% of families and 26.9% of the population were below the poverty line , including 39.0% of those under age 18 and 16.3% of those age 65 or over. According to the 2022 American Community Survey ,
725-713: The name Brunswick Phillies . After the Fitzgerald Redlegs left, the city was without a team for the 1955 season. The next year the Cordele club relocated to Fitzgerald after ten seasons in Cordele. They changed affiliation back to what were now called the Kansas City A's , and the Fitzgerald A's played for the 1956 season. In 1957, the club again changed its affiliation, to the Baltimore Orioles;
754-404: The south central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia . As of 2020, its population was 9,006. It is the principal city of the Fitzgerald micropolitan statistical area , which includes all of Ben Hill and Irwin counties. A small portion of Fitzgerald is in Irwin County. Fitzgerald was developed in 1895 by Philander H. Fitzgerald, an Indianapolis newspaper editor. A former drummer boy in
783-475: Was a sundown town , prohibiting African Americans from living there. In recent years the unofficial, and sometimes controversial, mascot of the city has become the red junglefowl , a wild chicken native to the Indian subcontinent . In the late 1960s, a small number were released into the woods surrounding the city and they thrive to this day. In 2019, work began on a 62-foot (19 m) tall topiary statue of
812-418: Was an early planned city. It was laid out as a square, with intersecting streets dividing it into four wards. Each ward was divided into four blocks and each block had sixteen squares. The first two streets running north–south on the west side of the city were named after Confederate generals Lee and Johnston, whereas the first two on the east side were named after Union generals Grant and Sherman. After about
841-662: Was released in March 2010. Also a food-and-travel writer, Mayes is the author of The Tuscan Sun Cookbook and A Year in the World: Journeys of A Passionate Traveller (2006), narratives of her and her husband's travels in Greece, Turkey, Spain, Morocco and other countries. In 2019 she published See You in the Piazza , an ode to favorite locations, and in 2020 Always Italy , a journey to all twenty regions of Italy. That book won
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